During the most recent show, an expletive was used during one of the songs played. We didn’t realize that when we selected the song, and are deeply sorry if anyone was offended. There is no excuse for that kind of mistake, and it will not happen again.

Walking with a bit of a limp and a boot on his right foot, Trevor Lacey was smiling. A fan in the stands gestured towards him, saying “Great game today. You look like you are having fun.” If possible, Lacey’s smile grew wider before he answered, “Yes sir, I sure am.” Lacey had every reason to be excited after Alabama’s win over Mississippi State in front of an alive Coleman Coliseum. It was a win that has, for the moment, pretty much secured the Tide’s spot in the NCAA tournament.

Trevor Lacey hopes he has a lot more to smile about in the coming weeks.

Of course, nothing about this program was fun just a few weeks ago.

It all started with a four game losing streak that included an uninspiring loss at home against Vanderbilt as well as a loss to last place South Carolina. Then, just when everything seemed a bit better, Tony Mitchell was suspended. Then, JaMychal Green, Trevor Releford, and Andrew Steele were told to go home after an incident in Baton Rouge. All of this accumulated to the Crimson Tide losing to LSU and Florida, and being on the verge of elimination from the NCAA tournament field.

So how, a week and a half later, has everything changed?

Since the two game losing streak, Alabama said goodbye to Tony Mitchell and welcomed back Releford, Steele, and Green. In a game against Tennessee, Releford shined as Alabama began playing tougher defense and dividing up the scoring. Levi Randolph, who had not been very comfortable when it comes to shooting early in SEC play, was starting to take and make baskets. Trevor Lacey and Rodney Cooper were finally living up to their potential. Even Moussa Gueye and Carl Engstrom were making an impact, especially defensively. The Tide is a new team, and it is all because they lost their Achilles Heel.

Yes, I’ll say it. Tony Mitchell was the reason Alabama was in a big funk.

In a 69-59 loss to Vanderbilt early in SEC play, Mitchell played 31 minutes and didn’t score a point. Many Alabama fans called his play “uninspired”, and it only got worse up until his suspension. In my opinion, the negative attitude of Mitchell had created a horrible atmosphere around the team. It was definitely the right move by Anthony Grant to suspend his preseason all-SEC forward, who had been averaging over 13 points a game.

Now, Alabama is on a three game wining streak, currently hold fourth place in the SEC, and has two more winnable games to close out the season. Not only that, but they are in prime position for a decent seed in the NCAA tournament. Who knew that losing an Achilles Heel could create such a colossal turnaround.